Cool article about Hock Wah Yeo, the designer of every PC game package that was unforgettable if you spent any time in an Electronics Boutique in the mid-90s.
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Video game cover art (and more) : Who covers the covers?
- Thread starter Torzelbaum
- Start date
That does give a whole new meaning to box art.
Mister Shake makes an excellent point
Ha, it is. I was like "what, that movie's poster is nothing like Guardian Legend," because I was used to this one:
But when image searching, this one came up, and oh yeah:
Honestly, the first one would have fit the game better,
Both are equally boss
Both are equally boss
Is THAT what the Landers are supposed to look like?
I tend to agree. Also, I actually like the Guardian Legend box more than the Creature poster it's ripping off.
Obviously!
It’s got the Noels House Party guarantee!
They don’t just give those things out!
They don’t just give those things out!
you can call them mad, but you can’t call them liars
When we did game art top 50, I put this at number one. It teaches you programming but it looks like some sort of Civ game where you are in charge of a planet sized Generation Ship setting forth on a quest both to find new life and allies in the universe and rebuild and restructure society into something transcending all our ills and failings on Earth becoming advanced not only in technology but perhaps.... our humanity. But I think the game just teaches you how to make a bunny hop across the screen.
That was me
I think... Speaking of which;
Oh, hey - I found the exact quote while looking for something else.
"Sober Men Doing Important Things"
Here we have a classic martials arts movie scene where the villains have kidnapped a fighter's girlfriend and are forcing him to fight. Which rarely ever goes well for them which seems to be the case here since it looks like their henchman just got kicked in the face pretty hard. (Maybe you shouldn't wear jeans when trying to fight someone in a kung fu uniform.) And the main villains are not reacting well to that with glowing belly guy throwing up his hands in exasperation (I can just imagine him saying "Oh, come on.") while the Dragon is growling and yelling something like "Just you wait! Our next fighter will take you down!"
But let's see how that cover art compares to the actual game / gameplay.
(Kung-Fu Master, which is known as Spartan X in Japan is a 1984 side-scrolling beat 'em up game developed by Irem.
"It was based on Hong Kong martial arts films and is loosely adapted from the Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung film Wheels on Meals and was also inspired by the Bruce Lee film Game of Death."
It was ported to quite a few different systems by a couple different publishers. It was released for the NES as Kung Fu in 1985 but was not released for the Atari 2600 until 1987.
Per BOX=ART the cover art was created by
)
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Fun fact, there's a movie called Kung Fu Master. Is it related? Absolutely! But it's not an adaptation but a French drama about a kid obsessed with the game and... other things that are not easy to broach without a content warning, directed by arthouse favourite and cinematic legend Agnes Varda.
Since Johnny is currently honoring our Top 50 for Video Game Box Arts in his Top 50s retrospective thread I decided to repost my Top 25 here.
I'm only including one image embed to avoid clobbering your web browser.
Hits:
4. Phoenix, Atari 2600 [#42/50]
5. The Legend of Zelda, NES (Note: The version that shows the gold cartridge.) [#18/50]
10. Ninja Gaiden, NES [#45/50]
11. Yars' Revenge, Atari 2600 [#40/50]
13. Kirby's Adventure, NES [#10/50]
14. Gaia Gensōki (Illusion of Gaia), Japan, Super Famicom [#43/50]
Honorable Mentions:
1. Daimakaimura (Ghouls 'n Ghosts), Japan, Mega Drive [#55/50]
22. Wild Guns, Super NES [#60/50]
"Misses":
2. MagMax, NES
(Famicom version - similar
Spectrum 48 version - radically different)
3. Elevator Action, NES
6. Archon Ultra, DOS
(Another version with some minor quality issues / differences)
7. Rampage, Sega Master System
8. Battle Chess, DOS
9. Wizardry: Knight of Diamonds - The Second Scenario, Apple II
12. Might and Magic: Darkside of Xeen, Germany, DOS
15. The Quest for the Rings / Quest for the Rings!, Odyssey 2
16. Déjà Vu, NES
17. Joust, Atari 2600
18. Ninja Ryūkenden II: Ankoku no Jashinken (Ninja Gaiden II : The Dark Sword of Chaos), Japan, Famicom
19. Megamania, Atari 2600
20. Shadowgate, Japan, Famicom
21. Dynowarz: Destruction of Spondylus, NES
23. Archon, NES
24. Revenge of Defender, Amiga
25. Thunder Spirits, Super NES
I'm only including one image embed to avoid clobbering your web browser.
Hits:
4. Phoenix, Atari 2600 [#42/50]
5. The Legend of Zelda, NES (Note: The version that shows the gold cartridge.) [#18/50]
10. Ninja Gaiden, NES [#45/50]
11. Yars' Revenge, Atari 2600 [#40/50]
13. Kirby's Adventure, NES [#10/50]
14. Gaia Gensōki (Illusion of Gaia), Japan, Super Famicom [#43/50]
Honorable Mentions:
1. Daimakaimura (Ghouls 'n Ghosts), Japan, Mega Drive [#55/50]
22. Wild Guns, Super NES [#60/50]
"Misses":
2. MagMax, NES
(Famicom version - similar
Spectrum 48 version - radically different)
3. Elevator Action, NES
6. Archon Ultra, DOS
(Another version with some minor quality issues / differences)
7. Rampage, Sega Master System
8. Battle Chess, DOS
9. Wizardry: Knight of Diamonds - The Second Scenario, Apple II
12. Might and Magic: Darkside of Xeen, Germany, DOS
15. The Quest for the Rings / Quest for the Rings!, Odyssey 2
16. Déjà Vu, NES
17. Joust, Atari 2600
18. Ninja Ryūkenden II: Ankoku no Jashinken (Ninja Gaiden II : The Dark Sword of Chaos), Japan, Famicom
19. Megamania, Atari 2600
20. Shadowgate, Japan, Famicom
21. Dynowarz: Destruction of Spondylus, NES
23. Archon, NES
24. Revenge of Defender, Amiga
25. Thunder Spirits, Super NES
I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but:
A fairly rare instance of an NES game having it's original box art kept relatively intact for its Western release, with all additions only adding to a stylish presentation. Just a chunky, bouncy little cartoon world to wreak havoc in. What would an "Americanized" version of this even look like? Can someone just make a 3D sandbox game of whatever universe this little world is set in? Just me and my Honda City vs the world...
Also, wasn't the western logo a direct ripoff of Love Connection from that time? I'm almost positive someone here mentioned that before...
A fairly rare instance of an NES game having it's original box art kept relatively intact for its Western release, with all additions only adding to a stylish presentation. Just a chunky, bouncy little cartoon world to wreak havoc in. What would an "Americanized" version of this even look like? Can someone just make a 3D sandbox game of whatever universe this little world is set in? Just me and my Honda City vs the world...
Also, wasn't the western logo a direct ripoff of Love Connection from that time? I'm almost positive someone here mentioned that before...
Today I have a trio of game covers from Japan that all evoke the feeling of - I want to watch this anime (even if the game isn't based on an actual anime).
Here we have a fairly cartoony-looking anime with some zany characters (including a kasa-obake). It's probably intended for a younger audience but still looks like it would be fun to watch.
(Ninja JaJaMaru-kun is an 1985 action platformer made by Jaleco. It was originally released on the Famicom. It was later ported to arcades and the MSX. The cover art above is from the 1999 WonderSwan remake - Ganso JaJaMaru-kun, which was developed by TOSE.)
Now this anime looks like it's for a much older audience. It looks like it will have some intense action, probably a lot of blood (which might be censored to a white color for international releases) and you might even see a ... tiddy.
(Shien's Revenge AKA Shien: The Blade Chaser is a Super FamiCom / Super NES game from 1994. It's a rail shooter where you play as the title character in a first person perspective. It was co-designed by Takashi Shichijo and manga artist Go Nagai. It was published in North America by Vic Tokai.)
And this is an anime that's mature but for a different reason. It seems to be one of those near future or far future sci-fi animes that tackle complex philosophical topics (à la Akira or Ghost in the Shell). There's probably lots of debate around the symbolism in it.
(Illusion City is a JRPG from 1991 that was created by Microcabin. It was first released on the MSX Turbo R home computer and was later ported to PC-88, PC-98, FM Towns, X68000 and Sega Mega-CD. It was never released outside of Japan.)
Here we have a fairly cartoony-looking anime with some zany characters (including a kasa-obake). It's probably intended for a younger audience but still looks like it would be fun to watch.
(Ninja JaJaMaru-kun is an 1985 action platformer made by Jaleco. It was originally released on the Famicom. It was later ported to arcades and the MSX. The cover art above is from the 1999 WonderSwan remake - Ganso JaJaMaru-kun, which was developed by TOSE.)
Now this anime looks like it's for a much older audience. It looks like it will have some intense action, probably a lot of blood (which might be censored to a white color for international releases) and you might even see a ... tiddy.
(Shien's Revenge AKA Shien: The Blade Chaser is a Super FamiCom / Super NES game from 1994. It's a rail shooter where you play as the title character in a first person perspective. It was co-designed by Takashi Shichijo and manga artist Go Nagai. It was published in North America by Vic Tokai.)
And this is an anime that's mature but for a different reason. It seems to be one of those near future or far future sci-fi animes that tackle complex philosophical topics (à la Akira or Ghost in the Shell). There's probably lots of debate around the symbolism in it.
(Illusion City is a JRPG from 1991 that was created by Microcabin. It was first released on the MSX Turbo R home computer and was later ported to PC-88, PC-98, FM Towns, X68000 and Sega Mega-CD. It was never released outside of Japan.)
Color can really making a cover pop but choosing colors to use can be difficult especially if trying to create a good contrasts. These next covers try to solve that problem by using every color against a black background.
They do that by using an iridescent color scheme with either "neon" outlines to make a striking composition.
(I like how this guy just seems exasperated that the dragon is attacking him while he's trying to open the treaure chest. "Oh, come on!")
Or by imitating a metallic surface.
Here are some alternate versions of the games with varying box and scan quality:
Temple - Commodore 64
Gateway - ColecoVision & ADAM
Gateway - Commodore 64
(Temple of Apshai is a 1979 dungeon crawler which was developed & published by Automated Solutions, which later became Epyx. It was ported to many different home computer systems of the era.
Gateway of Apshai is a 1983 action-adventure game that is a prequel to Temple. It was developed by The Connelley Group and published by Epyx. It was released on the ColecoVision console, Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers.
Both games were part of Epyx's Dunjonquest series of games.)
They do that by using an iridescent color scheme with either "neon" outlines to make a striking composition.
(I like how this guy just seems exasperated that the dragon is attacking him while he's trying to open the treaure chest. "Oh, come on!")
Or by imitating a metallic surface.
Here are some alternate versions of the games with varying box and scan quality:
Temple - Commodore 64
Gateway - ColecoVision & ADAM
Gateway - Commodore 64
(Temple of Apshai is a 1979 dungeon crawler which was developed & published by Automated Solutions, which later became Epyx. It was ported to many different home computer systems of the era.
Gateway of Apshai is a 1983 action-adventure game that is a prequel to Temple. It was developed by The Connelley Group and published by Epyx. It was released on the ColecoVision console, Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers.
Both games were part of Epyx's Dunjonquest series of games.)
one of SEGA's biggest mistakes was making the physical release of Like A Dragon Gaiden exclusive to Japan/Asia despite having the best cover in the entire series.
they also had issues exporting Fist of The North Star: Lost Paradise, the original cover was a high quality drawing from the creator of the manga Tetsuo Hara.
but it got rejected due to the US ratings board having issues with Yuria's cleavage, leading to this incredibly generic replacement.
at the very least there was a compromise where the original art was inserted as an inside cover, but imagine having to see this at the store.
they also had issues exporting Fist of The North Star: Lost Paradise, the original cover was a high quality drawing from the creator of the manga Tetsuo Hara.
but it got rejected due to the US ratings board having issues with Yuria's cleavage, leading to this incredibly generic replacement.
at the very least there was a compromise where the original art was inserted as an inside cover, but imagine having to see this at the store.